The History of School Transportation in Mercer County, WV

2014-15

2014's new year coincided with about half a dozen new Blue Bird buses being added to the fleet. But this time around, there were a few surprises in store.

For starters, this year's buses were the first in Mercer County to be equipped with stop-arm cameras. These cameras were the product of a WVDOT task force aimed towards reducing the number of illegal "stop-arm runners," and have the ability to record passing vehicles and their licence number.

The 2015 model year was a big one for Blue Bird, with their conventional Vision model sporting its biggest visible design changes in seven years. The grille emblem was enlarged, and the flush-mounted headlight clusters were now one-piece units designed for easy aiming. High headroom was made standard across the entire lineup, with the previous low-headroom body discontinued. The roof's white-to-yellow transition was moved above the line of the flashers, and a tapered "half-streamer" was added to the Blue Bird roof logo. Clearance lights were also reduced in size, and now resembled luminous marbles.

After six years, however, the Vision's time in the local limelight was almost through. An advantageous bid from Matheny Motors meant that a change of brands was in the air...and this season brought the first new Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 buses to the school board's fleet since the 2009 model year. Mercer County's new C2s differed visually from earlier models in the use of yellow rather than black window framing, white roofs, and LED lighting. These buses were also equipped with Cummins engines, in contrast to the Mercedes-Benz engines that powered earlier models.

The 2015 model year was the decade's "last hurrah" for the Blue Bird Vision in Mercer County's fleet. #627 and #628 are lift-equipped 59-passenger models and feature stop-arm cameras, visible as a white protrusion aft of the battery door. [Photos by Adam Ross, 2020]

2015 also saw the triumphant return of the Thomas C2 to the fleet...with yellow window framing and other detail changes. #629 and #630 both seat 71 passengers. [Photos by Adam, 2020 and 2021]

#631 and #632, both of which are Vision lift buses identical to the numbers above. [Photos by Adam, 2020]

#633 was the sole Blue Bird full-size conventional bus in this year's slate of acquisitions. As a non-accessible model, it features larger wheels and wheel wells than comparable lift-equipped Blue Bird buses. [Photo by Adam, 2020]

2015 saw Mercer County Schools receive its very first "TX4" Blue Bird All American transit-style bus, numbered #634. The TX4 represented a rationalization of the Blue Bird Type D lineup, with the redesigned front structure of the TX3 combined with the curved roof and rear of the older-style TC3000. The TX4 also featured interior changes, shared with the year's Blue Bird Vision. [Photo by Adam, 2020]

2015-16

Mid-decade saw Mercer County complete its transition back to the "Thomas Camp," with five new Saf-T-Liner C2s.

When the Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 entered production in 2004, several provisions of West Virginia's Minimum Requirements for Design and Equipment of School Buses had to be waived or amended in order to legalize the new model. One such requirement that fell by the wayside were flasher visors, used since the 1950s to increase the apparent contrast of warning signals in sun-lit conditions. The state reconsidered this exception when time came for the 2016 models, however...and this year's C2s were equipped with "shields over lamps, painted black."

#635 and #636 both appear to be 59-passenger buses. They're not identical, though: #635 has a fixed rear side window, while #636 does not. [Photos by Adam, 2020]

#637, a Thomas C2 of indeterminate capacity backing into the sun. [Photo by Adam, 2020]

#638 and #639 are longer flavours of the C2, in 71-passenger configuration. All of this year's buses have fleet numbers emblazoned on both corners of the front bumper, allowing for easy identification both from the curb and opposing lanes. [Photos by Adam, 2020]

2016-17

With specifications standing pat, 2017's Thomas C2s were largely a repeat of those the year before. One subtle change was visible by the door: All Thomas Built buses this year carried a "One Hundred Years" medallion commemmorating the centenary of the company. Canadian-born industrialist Perley A. Thomas founded his namesake Car Works in High Point, North Carolina in 1916, focusing on streetcars in the heyday of rail transportation and transitioning to bus bodies in the 1930s.

#640 through #642 are identical 71-passenger 2017 Thomas C2 buses. Note the commemorative medallion on #642. [Photos by Adam, 2020 and 2021]

In spite of their "18" fleet number suffix, #644 through #646 are in fact 2017 models otherwise identical to the previous numbers in the fleet, including the presence of the commemorative medallion. Given the discrepancy, it's probable that these buses were midyear orders. [Photos by Adam, 2020 and 2021]

2017-19

Visible year-to-year changes between annual orders of buses almost ceased with the acquisition of Mercer County's 2018 and 2019 models. Both orders consisted of Thomas C2s, primarily of 71-passenger capacity and identical in specification to those that had come before.

With this year's round of developments came the advent of the school board's eighth transportation director: Oka Boothe, a veteran driver with nearly three decades of experience.

#647 and #648, 71-passenger 2018 Thomas C2 buses. [Photos by Adam, 2020]

#649, a 59-passenger model. Note the multiple hinged panels for fuse and battery access. [Photo by Adam, 2021]

#651, shown with a pair of recently-retrofitted antenna "horns." [Photo by Adam, 2023]

#652 (and the two fleet numbers that follow) are identical 71-passenger 2019 Thomas C2 buses. These have a single visible difference from earlier models: The LED side clearance lights were reduced in size. [Photos by Adam, 2020]

#653, with a crossing gate that wants to get away. [Photos by Adam, 2020]

This rear view of #654 reveals a buckled side skirt panel, most likely incurred in a tricky mountaintop reversing manoeuvre. Scars like these are par for the course for school buses in WV. [Photo by Adam, 2022]

Continued...

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©2020-23 Andrew Turnbull, exclusive of historical and submitted images.